Mark Ruffalo in Rome: cinema, memory, and the urgency of staying human
Mark Ruffalo in Rome, between Fellini’s Amarcord, Foxcatcher, and a powerful message: stay united to protect human rights and dignity. Two evenings with the young people of Cinema Troisi and the Piccolo America Foundation, exploring cinema and civic engagement. We were there.
Mark Ruffalo al Cinema in Piazza. Ph. Fondazione Piccolo America / Cinema Troisi (Luca Dammicco e Emilia De Leonardis)
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They came one by one, carrying blankets, baskets, and folding chairs, filling the line with quiet excitement and the promise of something special. At Rome’s Parco della Cervelletta, and later at Cinema Troisi, everything seemed ready to welcome “Broadway star” Mark Ruffalo.
On a warm Roman night, beneath a sky full of stars, even dreams seemed, borrowing from Deleuze, tantalizingly within reach. Distances dissolved. Smiles multiplied. It looked like any other summer screening: Amarcord by Fellini, introduced by a Hollywood actor. But it wasn’t.
It was a night when, alongside thousands of young people and the energy of the Piccolo America Foundation, two seemingly distant worlds came together, recognized one another, and found deep understanding.
Mark Ruffalo introduces Amarcord
Ruffalo reinforced it in his introduction: the urgency of staying united, of awakening collective consciousness, of resisting the alarming erosion of humanity in our time.
“Fascism” -a word Ruffalo doesn’t shy away from- is, for him, not just a historical period. It’s a persistent force: a concept still deeply rooted, capable of erasing a person’s most intimate and human dimension.
Everything around us is a matter of rights: denied or recognized. And everything demands effort, participation, and the hard work of showing up. It means feeling part of a living, supportive community, one that refuses to give in.
We’re called to do this, not just as artists or professionals, but as human beings. And we must do it in places that allow those values to grow. Like the Stella Adler Academy, which -here our interview to the Stella Adler Academy of Acting- gave space to a young man from Wisconsin who arrived with just a few dollars and a suitcase full of hope.
Mark Ruffalo al Cinema in Piazza. Ph. Fondazione Piccolo America / Cinema Troisi (Luca Dammicco e Emilia De Leonardis)
Foxcatcher at Cinema Troisi
The collective embrace continued on Thursday, June 26, at Cinema Troisi with the screening of Foxcatcher, attended by director Bennett Miller, actor Mark Ruffalo, and journalist Antonio Monda, who moderated the event.
In a quiet dance between public responsibility and private identity, Foxcatcher explores the complexities of family ties and human relationships.
“We all come from complicated families,” Ruffalo told the audience. “And we all live through relationships that are hard to explain. But this film has always reminded me how important those connections are to me.”
Amid the dramatic interplay of physical and emotional tension, the film reminds us that we are always, willingly or not, faced with a choice: what to carry with us, and what-or whom-to leave behind.
This isn’t new for Ruffalo. He has long chosen film projects that evoke something personal: a memory, a reflection, a connection, or perhaps a call back to his roots.
Mark Ruffalo e Bennett Miller al CinemaTroisi. Ph. Fondazione Piccolo America / Cinema Troisi (Claudia Rolando, Stefania Casellato)
A personal Amarcord
We saw it in I Know This Much Is True, perhaps one of his most powerful performances. Alongside the twin characters of Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, the pain of loss resurfaces, and so does the enduring bond that survives through rebirth. We saw it again in The Kids Are All Right, a gentle tribute to his brother Scott. And we see it once more in Foxcatcher.
Within these relationships, duty and love intertwine, so do gratitude and resentment, attraction and repulsion. And at the heart of it all is a true story: Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, whom Ruffalo came to understand and portray, even through an intimate detail: Schultz’s real glasses, worn by Ruffalo on set.
Mark Ruffalo al CinemaTroisi. Ph. Fondazione Piccolo America / Cinema Troisi (Claudia Rolando, Stefania Casellato)
Cinema and the shared experience
It was in this spirit that the young audience at Cinema Troisi let themselves be quietly carried by the words of their guest, listening not just with attention, but with something closer to reverence.
When we think back to the first time we saw Mark, we remember the soft wave of his hand and his arms open wide, not just to the crowd, but to anyone reaching out with love and humanity.
That’s the gesture we most closely associate with him: open arms, a quiet generosity, the ability to immerse himself fully in the lives of others through his work, and in his life.
Sometimes, a single moment in his presence is enough to change the course of a life. His words lift the spirit, reflect who you might become, and spark the desire to recognize yourself in that deep sense of collective humanity that, surely, transforms those who choose to live it.
